


Walking on Eggshells

by thefeelsonthebus



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, accident and emergency, blind!leo, kind of blind in one eye and partially sighted in the other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2014-07-20
Packaged: 2018-02-09 17:02:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1990716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefeelsonthebus/pseuds/thefeelsonthebus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new friendship blossoms out of a a trip to A&E, a car accident, and an unfortunate incident with exploding eggs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Walking on Eggshells

It was always Leo. There was that incident with the squid when they went on a day trip to the beach, where Percy had to prise it off his foot. Then there was when he nearly killed himself when his hang glider broke. And now, he'd gone and burnt half his face.

Jason had been in A&E for three hours now. The burns didn't seem life-threatening at the time, but maybe they were worse than Jason anticipated. He hoped his friend was alright, even though he was here because of a stupid experiment Leo had insisted on doing. He yawned, scratching the back of his neck. It was half three in the morning and Jason could see the first hints of dawn. He looked around the waiting room. He had been here longer than everyone, well, everyone except a boy with dark hair who looked just a bit younger than him. He was here when Jason arrived, supporting Leo and his basically charred face, and he was still here now, looking at the door where the injured disappeared to, his face pale and his feet tapping. Jason thought he needed someone to talk to.

Scooting up two seats, he settled himself in the seat next to the boy. At first, he didn't notice him; he only realised someone new was sat next to him after about a minute when Jason sneezed. He looked around in surprise. "Erm, hi?" He said, his voice weak and hoarse. Jason smiled. "You alright? You've been here a long while, longer than me!" The boy smiled anxiously. "Dude, I've been here since eleven." Jason winced. "Jeez, bet you're tired." He looked at the ground. "I couldn't sleep if I tried."

There was a moment of awkward silence, then Jason held out his hand. "Jason Grace." He said. The boy shook it. "Nico di Angelo. What tragic tale brings you here, Jason?" Jason noticed Nico's voice was laced with bitterness. He chose to ignore it. "My friend has probably burnt half of his face away." Nico winced. "God, how did that happen?" Jason laughed slightly. "It's a long story, but essentially, it involved a midnight dare, a microwave, and a few exploding eggs." Nico laughed. "I know he's injured, but what the hell?!" Jason smiled. "They're not too worried about his face; it's his eye they're checking over. Some of the hot egg white and eggshell got in it after it exploded when he opened the microwave." "Ouch." Nico muttered, and there was an awkward silence, before Jason dared to ask. "Why are you here?" Nico dropped his eyes. "My sister was in a car accident." 

Jason's heart ran cold. "God, Nico, I'm so -" "Don't apologise," he snapped, then softened. "Sorry." He ducked his head. Jason had a horrible feeling he was holding back tears. "They don't know whether she'll live." Jason put a hand gently on Nico's forearm. Nico looked up, like he was surprised someone was actually caring for him, hastily wiping away tears. Jason was right. He has been crying. "Tell me about something you love." Jason said. "A book, a TV show, anything." Nico sniffed. "Why are you doing this?" He asked, looking at Jason, his deep brown eyes nervous. He felt a stab of pity for him. "Why not?" He said, smiling. 

Nico took a deep breath. "There was this... this stupid card game. Mythomagic." "Oh, I've heard of that." Jason noted. Nico nodded. "Yeah, well when I was a kid, I was obsessed with it. I... I had kind of a screwed up childhood. My mom died when I was four, and my dad didn't care for me and Bianca. That's my sister. We were kind of isolated, and alone. It was... It was my only escape. I was a right geek." Jason chuckled. "Being a geek isn't always a bad thing." 

They stayed talking like this for a while. Just about random topics, like Jason's sister and Nico's trip to China when he was thirteen. And when a doctor came through the door, asking for Jason, Nico came with him. Jason could feel his heart thumping in his chest at seeing how bad his best friend was hurt. The doctor led him down a corridor, and into a room, where he saw Leo, his face burned on the left side, staring up at the ceiling. Leo looked at him. "Nice to see you, Jason," he said, his voice a little hollow. "New friend?" Jason shrugged. "Just met him in the waiting room." "I'll wait outside," Nico said nervously, and before Jason could object, he was gone. 

Jason approached Leo. "Do they know what's wrong?" He asked. Leo laughed bitterly. Jason felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Oh, they know alright." He rubbed his left eye, probably aggravating the burn, but he didn't seem to care. Jason realised with an uncomfortable jolt that Leo's left eye looked glazed over. Like... "Is it..." Jason trailed off, but Leo seemed to know what he was going to say. "Yeah. All these burns will scar and I'm blind in one eye, partially blind in the other." He laughed again. "One thing's for sure; I'm never eating boiled eggs again." Jason felt like he was falling. He knew Leo too well. Leo would try and make a joke out of it, but really, he was breaking. And Jason knew that, despite Leo's brave face, he was breaking from pain. 

"Leo, how long will it be before you get out of hospital?" He asked. "Couple hours." He said, his voice quavering. "They need to give me the once over of what to do with my burns and stuff." Jason nodded. "Do you want me to wait here, or..." Leo shook his head. "I get the feeling your friend needs you." That was the thing about Leo. He knew the look to being broken so well that he could recognise the look on other people. "Are you sure?" He asked cautiously. Leo nodded, a sad smile on his face. "Go ahead." Jason cast one sad look back at Leo as he walked out. Just before the door shut, Jason had a very awful feeling that he heard a strangled sob escape from behind the door. 

He walked back into the waiting room, and Nico was sitting where he did before. Jason sat back down, looking at the ground. "How bad was it?" Nico asked gently. "He's going to be scarred, and he's blind in one eye." Jason said quietly. "He'll pull through, though. He's a strong -" 

"Nico di Angelo?" Nico stood up immediately, staring at a doctor stood at the door. "I think you'd better come with me." Nico shot a look at Jason that clearly said "please come with me." Jason immediately obliged, and followed the doctor and Nico into the first room off the corridor, a plain room with nothing in. He wasn't going to leave Nico now. "Where is she?" Nico's voice came out strangled and soft. Jason gripped his hand. He knew what was coming. The doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said softly. 

Nico let out a moan, and sank to his knees, sobs racking his body. Jason crouched down beside him, and suddenly, every other thought disappeared from his mind except to comfort this poor boy. He wrapped his arms around Nico as he cried, cried about the death of his sister, the sister Jason never knew, but he still felt so much pain for Nico. He was still crying and shaking forty minutes later, but Jason wasn't going to leave him now. He needed someone. And now that Bianca was dead, Jason, however little he knew Nico, was the only one left. 

After two hours had passed, Leo walked through the door, wearing what was essentially a mask covering half of his face. He seemed to judge the situation pretty well, which Jason was incredibly thankful for. Sometimes, Leo could be too rash. But now, he asked "Do you want to stay a while?" By this point, Nico was sat on a chair, leaning his head on Jason's shoulder, staring hollowly at the ground. Jason's arm was curled tightly around him. "I don't -" Jason trailed off, looking at Nico. Nico nodded. "It's fine. You go. Thanks for everything, Jason." Jason got up, shooting one last look at Nico, as if he expected him to change his mind. Instead, Nico managed a smile. Jason suddenly tugged a receipt for a coffee he'd bought in the cafe. "Leo, do you have a pen?" "Somewhere," he replied, scrabbling blindly in his jacket pocket. Well, maybe blindly wasn't the best adverb to use. But anyway, Leo managed to hand a pen to Jason, and Jason scribbled his number down. He handed it to Nico. "What's this?" He asked. Jason smiled. "Call me later," he said. And he helped guide Leo out of the door. 

Later that day, while Leo was twiddling with some project he'd been working on acorss the room, he texted Nico. 

" _Want to come round at the weekend? You could teach me how to play Mythomagic. Jason :)."_ Jason hoped Nico would know he wasn't badgering him while he was mourning. He just wanted to give him a little break from the pain. 

He replied almost instantly. _"Why are you doing this?_ " 

" _It's what friends do."_

" _Am I really a friend to you?_ " 

Leo looked over his shoulder and squinted at the screen. After a few seconds, he made the text out. "Friends? Jason, are you sure he doesn't have a bit more than friendship on his mind?" Jason elbowed him right in the stomach. "Shut your face." "You bastard!" Leo said, and left the room.  _Of course you are, Nico._ "

There was a ten minute gap before Jason got the next text. " _Are you free on Saturday?_ "

Jason smiled. " _Saturday's just fine :)"_


End file.
